Ventilator



Jan. 27, 1931. F. N. NELSON 1,790,059

vENTIpATbR Filed Jan. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORZVEV F. N. NELSON Jan. 2?, 1931.

VENTILATOR Filed Jan. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I IZVWZNTOA? KAY/1462 604/ 25 u H or valves adapted.to eloseIthe 'saaid'opeh ng r3111) trenches-NELSON," or simm'lrm; wesnme'mon; essxe von 'IfO'B'SAFETY m co;

' ,OFJ EA I E;wesnmecrongACORPO ATI N-onwesm we ron xuvENrimmonw l This iiiveiitionv relates to ventilators; ,aiid

rinoi e particularly, but not exciusiyely, to irel'itilators for. ships and bozits' f andfhags forj ritsichief object the, provision "of Ven'tilat thzit ean function eflicientlyja t alltim'esf,

trol in 'ceseof fire," fumigation; refrigeration,

QPSi Z iQgi and the like, and which ventilators "ma-y salso be modified to make 118% of the ther'eofl f 1 According it ihisiiiveiiaigit'he imprbi d irentii'zttor comprises a primary trunk; hai 51 .ing zf'coWI' at the 'iipper end thereof an automatic clearing ,port or ports'anda closing device or devices thereforvat the w er"end ofitl'ietruiik an opening 011 openingsjn the primary trunk leading to thespa'ceor spaces to he yentilated, a device located ,ahdve'the" s'aidopening or OpenihgstO flectvany Water entering thelprima y trunk; -an d- 'a float va'lve or openings.

l w Other. features of ini efitio ifeiieherein efterset fo 'rthilijthe claims, I In order-thtjthe's'aid invention maybe clearly understood and readily carried into effect; the" same will 'now he dscribeifiioi' e i fu11y,}hy m of exam l withireferehee to the accompanying drawings in which :1

I yentil'zitoriembodyingthe irivention;

sectional View", taken Figure 2' is a, Vertical at rightangles to Figure 1;

I 'Figure; 13 is a, cjrossfsection taker! one the' Figure-.-isja verticalsectional'deteii'i ieiifl on an enlarged scale, showing means-for op'eiflratilig eicover for closing the opening leadinginto, the 1 space or 'deserib nemmp wmga w n sl ls na 't i h'pri ytru eiz h l' f h p ee fiery ed ,const'ructiong the cowl being. rotata foreicestle', bridge 'poop jde'ck,"or eny super- ,t the 211 frointh eprimary trunk into the space to be i'iiti'lated, 8 the atershed or deflector above '60 theiope i'ngfand'Qlthe fioatv'alve; normally at'reston an angleb eiii 10, hu't al'ways to serve I i as a 0 .0 111? for the opening 7', .WheIi-required;

'Giliderods 11V ereseclirdto the'eiids of the 7 e gle hirglDfjeiid byfhgsf 12 to the bulkhead 47a d'co opemtewitiilug 13 attached to the I vided,frbm which truhk orftriinks'a i'r duct s 1 'led to individual compartments.

Ve" tofgilid'e the as hereinafter i V 15 hfa; ng'g attgiched theretoj'ialgasket 16 secured iifpl ateeby'binding strips 17-; tonthe -pe site side of the opening 7; provisionfisf made 7 7 close the, said ,openingj in ease of emergency,

S for fitting a 511117211116; cover j18, iIi order to iwhich'fcover, j hen there] is -no secondary i ii .7 ion airy: trunk, requires to be operable from the outside, ih'so'rne convenient place and 'is maybeof the type ordinarily used in i s bnpwhich, when-enclosed'byfa s'echereshowriconnected'b'y jointed links 19 and.

20ft0' ,a, screw threaded shaft 21, passing through the de'ck '3 and a" correspondingly thradedbeelringlfl on top or the deck, the shaft 21 having fitted-at the .oiiter end thereof a wheel 23, or a handle,.hy' which the shaft can be turned so estofope late the cover 18 and 'ihoii e j i't intofloperi or closed position; The

link QQhEis at piii 2,11dslot connection with a bracket 24Q'SC7C1116C1 to! the secondary trunk;

'Wheii'the coVeris lowered and the links 19 q 1 20"a e:ina substantiallyhorizontal posi'tioii; the coter is fo'rcedtightly .ztgainst the refine 15,the,lend 20" of the link 20 abutting 'egeihst the-secondary tru' k which-is suit-,

ably stiffened. Where the cover is of excessive size, or excessive pressure is likely to be encountered, a suitable arrangement of clamps and dogs would be provided'to meet the'requirementsa M I I a The guiderods'l'l for the float valve'are formed so asv to permit the valve to travel freely thereon until about reaching the upper limit of thei opening 7, whereupon the valve,-

through the intervention of the lugs co-oper ating with off-sets 25 of the guide rods, is caused to engage with and compress thegas-i ket 16 to eflect a tight joint, as indicated by dottedlines in Figure l. The float-valve may be of any suitable formation and the'ens gaging face maybe jmade straight, as shown, or curvedto correspond with .theshapeof thetrunk orbulkhead with which the float 1 makes contact.;. lThe float valve is' arranged to. operate, utomatically as a closure against water or any vother I liquid entering the open: ing 7, but is also providedwith means-to con trol the same mechanic-ally (without inter-v feringwith the automatic action thereof, un-

less it is completely closed) so that the float will serve a number of other purposes,- such as those previously stated. i r j n The particular means shown for inechan ically controlling the float-valve comprises a rod26, passing through the horizontalflange of the angle bar '10,'th e said flange beingoflseft at 26 to accommodate a pad 27 atftheupper' endof the rod 26. The saidrod is guided between a bracket 28- and a flanged plate 29 sei a c 'ure d thereto, the bracketbeing secured to the bulkhead t-and'also serving'as a stop at 28 i for the device 6' which automatically closes the clearingjport 5. The rod 26 isoperated, in the example ,shown,'by means of a 'In'the event of the ventilator being-"sub: merged-in aninverted position (for instance in small vesselsor boats that may berighted again) means are provided for using the float as a closure in such a contingency. For

purposes of illustration, the means provided comprise a counterweight 33 secured to the rod 26, the combined weight ofthe said rod and conterweight being suflicient to overcome the buoyancy of the float and cause it "as close the opening'Z; l f

q Themechanical control of the'float valve (local control or remote or master control,

or both) may be accomplishedby any'appropriate means, such as a solenoidorother electrical device, or counterweights, push or pull rods Ior' wires, telemotors, compressed air, steam, or any desired means for the purpose.

- The closing device 6,-for-the clearing port 5," is shown pivotally mounted at. the lower end of the primary trunk in sucha manner as normallyv ema in Closed by ,weight, with sufficient force to trapthe air in the trunk but capable of opening automatically, when water accumulates in the saidtrunk, to close automatically when the water is" discharged andv to remain closed against the'entrance of'water from the exterior. V

; Theo-closi g e em nt is so; Q nte a to normallyqremain closed bygravity and, as

will be apparent from Figure 1 of the drawings, the area of theelementbelow the pivot is somewhat largerthan the area above the pivot; This tendsto holdthe element closed under externalpressure of water by reason of the pressure exerted'onfthe lower and larger pressure area overcoming 'the same pressure on the upper and smaller pressure area, which would otherwise tend to open the element. Of course,"u nder these conditions an accumulation'offwater within the trunk will tend tovopen the closing'element,it', of course, being the intention to so balance the element togain'the'advantages noted and to cause the element to open' under the accumulating weight of water in the trunk,"

while failing-to respondiin a similar'manner to any weight of air which might be i V accumulated in thetrunk; That is to say, the weight ofvwate'r; will open the element and automatically""'clear the: trunk, while the 'weight of the contained air is insuflicientto open the element.

' The closing device, oreach closing de vice, may be of the nature of awater-trap, a partially balanced butterfly valve, a weight or spring c'ontrolled non-return valve, a swinging freeing port, or a device of any other character suitable for the purposef" The modification shown in Figures 5 and 6 is" substantially the same as that above described with referenceto Figures l' to 4: of

the drawing, except that T there is provided a cowl 2 which is permanentlvfixed.

'Without defining the limits of'the invention, a ventilator according tofthe present invention maybe located, for ex'ample,;at

the end (forwarder'aft) of a s'hip s bridge or deckhouse,"or. at the'end of the forecastle or poop deck, with the supply cowl orinlet" facing forward, and theexhaustcow1 or outlet facingaft, with either fixed or rotatable cowls, to suit conditions. When' the ship moves ahead "or faces the wind, air will be forced and slightly compressed intotheprimary trunk, Theclosing device at'the bottom of the trunk will prevent the escape of the air by way of the clearing port or ports and the air will be forced into and through the air trunk ortrunks, ducts 'orleadsinto and through the compartments or sfpaces to be ventilated and out through 'a-similarly constructed exhaust trunk, cowlr or outlet. Rain, spray, drift orwaves that would make it necessary to turnaw'ay or to close the ordinary kind of ventilators, do not prevent the effective operation of a-ventilator acfill the whole ventilator, and to provide cording to the present invention, for the water is deflected into the bottom of the primary trunk by the sides of the trunk and the deflector. and is cleared away by the automatic clearing ports, without danger of water entering the air trunks, ducts or leads.

However, in extremely stormy weather it may happen that thefcrest of a wave may rise so high above the ship as temporarily to against entrance of water into the air trunks,

ducts or leads and throughthem intov the compartments or spaces to be ventilated, the

float valves are provided, while they also serve other purposes, as above described. If,

then,'water rises in the primary trunk high enough sothat there is danger of water entering the air trunks, the buoyant float will be raised by the water soasItemporarily' to' close the opening. and, when-the crest of the wave has passed (the submersion being for an instant only) the clearing port im= mediately emits the water out of the primary trunk, and, as the water recedes, the float immediately drops and permits air to pass through the spaces to be ventilated, leaving them freely ventilated, yet watertight.

' By a proper arrangement of the trunks,

ducts and leads, this method of ventilation and an automatic clearing port or ports and closing device or devices therefor: at the lower end of the trunk, an opening or openings in 'of the ventilator.

the primary trunk leading to the space or spaces to be ventilated, a device located above the said opening or openings to shed any water entering the primary trunk, and a float valve or valves adapted to close the said opening or openings.

2. A ventilator according to claim 1, having associated therewith a secondary trunk adapted to serve as an air duct. I

3. A ventilator accordingto claim 1,.in which the structure of a vessel forms part 4. A ventilator according to claim 1, having means for mechanically controlling the float valve or valves.

5. A ventilator according .toclaim 1 in which the opening or each opening leading from the primary trunk isprovided with a controllable cover adapted toclose the same I in case of emergency.

6. A ventilator according to claim 1, in

which the float valve or each float. valve is guided by rods or the like, the valve or each valve having lugs or the like adapted to co-operate" with offsets of the said rods or the like vto compress a gasket or other, sealing means to effect a tight joint around the opening or corresponding opening leading from the primary trunk. v

. 7 A ventilator according toclaim 1, hav

ing means for controlling the float valve or valves, the said means comprising'a guided rod adapted to be. operated by means of a, flexible cord or the like operable exteriorly' of the ventilator. V

8. A ventilator according to claim 1, in

which means are provided to ensure that the float valve or valves. will close theopen- Y ing or openings leading from the primarytrunk in: the event ofthe ventilator being submerged in an inverted position. J

9. A ventllator comprising a primary trunk open at the upper end, an automatic trunk-clearing element at the lower end, a

ventilating opening in' the trunkbetween the upper open end and the automatic trunk clearing opening, and means for'automati- V cally closing said opening incident to the 210- c cumulation of water in the trunk.

10. A ventilator comprising a primary trunk open at the upper end, anautomatic 1;

trunk-clearing element at the lower end, a ventilating opening in the-trunk between the upper open-"end and the automatic trunk clearing opening, means responsive to. the accumulation of water in the trunk for automatically closing said opening, and means whereby said opening and closing means may be selectively operated at will.

11. A ventilator comprising a' primary trunk open at the upper end, an automatic trunk-clearing element at the lower end, a

ventilating opening in the trunk between the upper open end and the automatic trunk clearing opening, and means for'closmg said opening against the admission of water,,said

means operating under the flotation eflect of the water when the trunk is upright and operating against the flotation effect of the water when the trunk is inverted.

12. A ventilator comprising a primary trunk open at theupper end, an automatic trunk-clearing element atthe lower end,-a

ventilating opening in the trunk between the upper open end andtheautomatic trunk clearingopening, a closure for the opening, a floatfor operating the closure underthe flotation effect of water in the trunk when the trunk is upright, and a weight for operating the closure when the trunk is inverted.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

FRED NICHOLAS Nelson. 

